City hosting H1N1 clinic

Posted: Friday, January 08, 2010

Karen Smith Welchkaren.welch@amarillo.com

The Amarillo Public Health Department wants to distribute more ounces of H1N1 prevention to the public on Saturday.

The department will conduct a free H1N1 influenza virus vaccination clinic from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday in the South Exhibit Hall at the Amarillo Civic Center, 401 S. Buchanan St. The hall is most conveniently accessed from Civic Center Entrance No. 3.

Public Health Director Matt Richardson estimated the department has thus far distributed 7,000 doses of the vaccine. That figure does not include doses that may have been given by private providers.

Although cases assumed to be the H1N1 virus have declined since activity in October and November, the virus still appears to be circulating in the Amarillo area, Richardson said, urging people to get vaccinated.

"I think there's always a concern that people are losing interest," he said. "It's still possible to contract H1N1. It's still circulating in the U.S. and still circulating in Texas."

The vaccine is voluntary and will be offered for free on a walk-in basis.

Parents of children ages 9 and younger who need a second dose of the vaccine should bring a shot record showing the date of the first H1N1 flu shot, according to nurse epidemiologist Casie Stoughton.

Richardson said a second dose acts as a booster to give children added immunity.

"The first does gives children 70 to 80 percent protection," he said. "With the second dose, it goes over 90 (percent)."

The department will have about 20 nurses and an equal number of administrators available on Saturday to streamline the process, Richardson said.

The wait times at previous clinics "have not been that bad," he said. "At the very worst, it has taken a half an hour or maybe a little longer. But at the last clinic, we were able to process people in under 10 minutes."